The University of Sydney has standard procedures for receiving, handling and reviewing appeals, in accordance with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (NHMRC, 2007).

This process involves the following steps:

The Manager, Ethics Administration (“The Manager”) receives the appeal and sends a response acknowledging receipt of the appeal.

The Manager or a delegated representative from the Ethics Office (“The Delegate”) gathers information regarding the appeal which may include:(a) Advice from a relevant external expert or agency;(b) Documents pertinent to the appeal including ethics applications, research tools, information statements and letters of correspondence.

The Manager or Delegate presents this information to the HREC Executive committee who make a recommendation on the appropriate course of action.

The researcher is informed, in writing, of the outcome by the Manager or Delegate.

If you are not happy with the outcome of an appeal request after it has been reviewed by the HREC, you have the right to dispute this decision. You can find out more about this process here.